


fool's gold

by agrestenoir



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Balcony Scene, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Identity Reveal, Midnight Picnics, Misunderstandings, Oh poor Adrien, You have no idea what's coming for you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 07:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13208733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrestenoir/pseuds/agrestenoir
Summary: When Adrien chooses the wrong place to detransform, his secret is revealed to none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.He knows he's taking a risk by trusting her, but perhaps it won't be that bad. After all, it means he finally gets to be honest with someone, show off some of the cooler parts about being a superhero, and get to know Marinette a little bit better.So long as Ladybug doesn't find out, thing'll be fine.Oh, what a naive boy.





	fool's gold

*

 

Adrien Agreste is certain of a few things in his life:

1) He loves being Chat Noir.

2) He loves Ladybug.

3) He wants to know Ladybug’s identity.

4) He wants Ladybug to know  _ his _ identity.

5) If anyone finds out his identity, other than Ladybug, he can’t be Chat Noir anymore.

6) He loves being Chat Noir.

7) Marinette Dupain-Cheng knows he’s Chat Noir.

 

*

 

The rain is slick against his skin as he runs across the school rooftop, sliding to a stop above the skylight where the thunder rattles the glass in the window frame. Muffling a soft curse, Chat Noir pulls on the rusty handle, claws digging into the metal as he tries to pry the window open without breaking it. It refuses to budge. He’d put more strength into it, but with his Miraculous beeping in warning, he knows he doesn’t have much time before he’ll transform back into Adrien Agreste…

…And then he’ll have a problem.

Deciding to face the consequences later, Chat Noir snaps the handle off—lock and all—before slowly pulling the skylight open and jumping down, slamming it close behind him. He lands in a low squat, resting back on his haunches, as rainwater drips onto the white tiles of the bathroom floor. Lightning paints the walls with streaks of light and shadow, and it takes him a moment to recognize that he hasn’t dropped into the boy’s restroom like he’d planned too.

A light blush dusts his cheeks as he quietly averts his eyes to the side just as his Miraculous gives its final warning. Chat Noir disappears in a flash of green, leaving Adrien Agreste standing in the middle of the deserted girl’s restroom.

Plagg slips out of the ring with a sly smile. “Well, kid,” he says with a low chuckle. “Never thought you had it in you.”

Adrien’s blush deepens, the tips of his ears turning a furious red, as he turns towards the kwami with a flustered gasp. “I wouldn’t—This was supposed to— _ Come on, Plagg! _ ”

Large green eyes peer up at him eerily from the shadows. “Scream later. Camembert now.”

Adrien huffs to himself and digs into his jean pocket for the last piece of cheese he’s sure he’d stashed on his person before leaving the house. Lunch had been a rushed ordeal entirely—even before the akuma appeared on the local news—as Nathalie had been on his case for missing another piano lesson.

(Though, if he has to be completely honest, Adrien stopped caring about the piano shortly after his mother left. Having a musical outlet had been her idea in the first place, and if she can’t be here to hear him, what’s the point of him continuing?)

Nathalie was calm and spoke in soft tones, but he knows she’s getting frustrated with his antics. It was the second time this week he’d missed the piano lessons due to an akuma-related incident, the fifth this month alone.

He wonders at what point she’ll tell his father instead of making excuses for him.

The point of the matter, however, is that Adrien isn’t sure if he remembered to restock his cheese supply before leaving. Not like it matters in the grand scheme of things, considering he keeps a constant supply in his gym locker, but it’s still a commute from the upstairs girl’s restroom to the bottom level where the locker room is located. Plus, he’d have to listen to Plagg’s complaining the entire way, which isn’t something he’s in mood to deal with, especially after an akuma battle.

When his fingers can’t find any camembert, he tries his other pockets and comes up empty-handed.  _ Damn it _ .

“Okay, Plagg, let’s head downstairs,” he says, opening his shirt to let his kwami slip inside. “There’s probably some camem—“

“A-Adrien?” The voice is like a gunshot—sudden and loud in the bathroom.

Shoulders tense, eyes wide, Adrien pauses because he  _ knows _ that voice. He  _ knows _ that. However, he refuses to turn around and be right—he doesn’t want to believe it. From the sound of harsh breathes behind him, though, he figures he needs to before he sends the stranger into a panic attack. On shaky legs, he turns around careful, slowly, and casts a nervous glance over his shoulder, scanning the shadows of the bathroom with scrutiny.

Just as he expects, Marinette Dupain-Cheng stands in the corner of the girl’s restroom.

“M-Marinette,” he says, hand rubbing the back of his head. He fists the hair at the nape of his neck as panic slowly sets in. “What’re you doing here? I thought you’d be in cl—”

And he prays and prays and  _ prays  _ she hadn’t noticed.

“You’re Chat—”

God has betrayed him.

“No, no—” He’s already shaking his head in protest. “D-Don’t say it!”

“B-But you’re—”

“ _ Nope _ !” With lightning speed, he bolts across the room and plants his hand over Marinette’s mouth, muffling the rest of her sentence. Eyes wide with panic, Adrien  _ pleads  _ with her to forget what she’s seen.

“Please,” he begs, “please.”

Beneath his hand, Marinette’s jaw goes slack. He takes it as a signal to pull away, but before he can, she’s smacking his hand away from her face.

Her lips part as she says, in equal parts shock and horror, “You’re Chat Noir.”

Well, Adrien decides, he’s dead. Ladybug’s going to kill him.

 

*

 

Adrien Agreste is never one to believe in luck.

He tries not to think about it too much, to be completely honest. Plagg had once tried to explain to him the bare bones of the concept of Ladybug and Chat Noir, two halves of a whole, from Lady Luck to the Black Cat, and their powers of creation and destruction respectively. All he took away from that explanation is that Ladybug is epitome of all good luck in the world while Chat Noir is the incarnation of bad luck.

What more is there to understand?

Basically: Adrien is screwed no matter what he does.

This time, though, his bad luck is causing more problems that it’s probably worth.

Adrien slumps forward over the table, chin resting atop his folded hands as Marinette paces across the front of the deserted classroom they’d slipped into after he frantically cornered her during the Bathroom Incident™. Controlling the situation is the first thought on his mind; preserving his secret and whatever other damage control he has to take part in is of the utmost importance.

“You’re Chat Noir,” she says to the empty air.

“Yes,” Adrien responds, fighting the urge to hide his face in his hands.  _ God, how could he be so stupid to detransform without making sure the place was empty? _

As he watches Marinette frantically try to process his secret identity, he tries to reassure himself that things will be alright. It’s Marinette, after all. Bright and wide-eyed Marinette who lives life to the fullest, as if everything she does is a new experience she can’t wait to enjoy, but always so careful and critical when it comes to serious matters. Adrien hopes she realizes the seriousness of the matter that involves keeping her mouth shut and keeping his secret safe.

“You’re Adrien Agreste,” Marinette says.

“Yes,” Adrien responds.

A faraway memory burst to the forefront of his mind, of a rainy day and a black umbrella, where he told a girl he’d just met a few startling truths. Before Françoise Dupont, Adrien had never been to a school outside his home, never had a friend before Chloe Bourgeois, and Marinette was the first person he’d trusted and the first friend he made.

He hopes he wasn’t wrong. He hopes he can trust her. He hopes she’ll keep his secret.

He  _ needs _ her to.

“You’re Adrien Agreste, and you’re Chat Noir.” It’s clear that Marinette is still processing.

“And some days I’m Jagged Stone,” he tells her, propping his chin atop folded hands. “I figure we might as well hit all my secret identities while we’re at it. Sometimes I moonlight as Dark Owl too when Mr. Damocles is too busy.” His voice turns bitter, but he sweetens it with a smile. “Just thought you should know.”

Marinette’s eyes go wide. “Don’t mess with me.”

Adrien rolls his eyes. “I’m just kidding, I promise.”

“Frankly, I’ll believe anything you tell me right now,” Marinette says, her voice a tad hysterical. Running a hand through her hair, she whirls around the room with a wild laugh. “I mean, you’re Chat Noir, like… Of  _ all people  _ to be him, it’s  _ you. _ ”

“First off,  _ please _ keep it down.” He pushes himself out of his seat with a frantic glance to the closed door, making sure that no one has picked up on Marinette’s commotion. “I’d like to at least  _ try _ to keep my secret identity a secret for a little while longer—”

“Yeah?” Marinette crosses her arms against her chest. “And how’s that working out for you so far?”

Anger bubbles in the pit of his stomach, the tips of his ears turning red. “That’s not fair. I would’ve been fine if you hadn’t been there. What the hell were you doing in the bathroom anyway? There was an akuma—you’re supposed to go to the safety zones.”

“I-I was…” This time, it’s Marinette’s turn to be flustered. “I w-was, I… I’m on my period.”

“So? That’s no reason to risk your life in an akuma battle!”

“What would you know? My u-uterus was trying to  _ kill _ me, of course—wait,  _ wait _ —why am I even explaining myself to you? You’re the one who jumped into the  _ girl’s bathroom _ to detransform?” Adrien flushes a bright pink. “Is this what you do with your powers, Adrien? You sneak into girl’s bathrooms and—”

“No, what?!” he cries out, shaking his head. “No, I thought it was the boy’s bathroom!”

“Well it wasn’t the boy’s bathroom!”

“Thank you, Marinette. I think I got that when you  _ saw  _ me.”

“And who’s fault is that?” she presses.

To be honest, Adrien knows there really isn’t much he can do about the situation.

All he knows is that it  _ really  _ isn’t his fault, even if he should’ve checked the bathroom first. He didn’t wake up this morning and ruffle his hair, wondering who he could reveal his true identity to today, and set his sights on Marinette before he’d even pushed the covers back. Plagg can attest to that—Adrien never willingly sets himself up to ruin everything—it just happens.

Bad luck has a tendency to fuck things up sometimes. He doesn’t know why he’s usually the target.

“Look, regardless of what happened, and who’s fault it is, you know my secret.” Adrien steps closer, placing his hands on Marinette’s shoulders. “And I  _ need _ you to keep it a secret, Marinette.”

She swallows thickly, trembling in his grip. “Why do—?”

“Because it’ll put a lot of people in danger: my family, my friends, Ladybug.” The nightmares that haunt him suddenly flash through his head—still painful and horrifying—the ones he always tries to forget. Closing his eyes, he bows his head. “Please, you’re my friend and I trust you, but… No one can know.  _ You’re _ not supposed to know. Even  _ Ladybug _ doesn’t know.”

“Ladybug doesn’t know,” came her sardonic response. “You sure about that?”

Adrien looks up, sees her lips pressed into a resolute expression, eyes distant. “She doesn’t. We swore we’d keep our identities a secret, even from each other. Obviously, I screwed that up—”

“Yes, you did. This is your fault,” Marinette interjects.

“—and now I need to make sure it stays that way. Please.” His eyes are bright and pleading. “Can you please keep this a secret, Marinette? I promise I’ll tell you anything you want to do, but I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone I’m a superhero.”

“I’m the only one who knows?” Marinette asks softly.

“Yeah,” he swears. “Unfortunately, it’s one person too much, but yeah, you’re the only one.”

She sighs at his words, seeming to crumble in herself as her shoulders hang heavy. “Okay,” she promises, voice low. “I’ll keep your secret.”

“Okay, okay,” Adrien says with a relieved smile. “Maybe I can get out of here without Ladybug killing me after all.”

“Yeah,” Marinette chimes in, still processing the news. “Maybe you can.

 

*

 

_ What a stupid boy _ , Tikki thinks.  _ You’re definitely going to die. _


End file.
